Texas Regulators Move To Allow More Fracking Wastewater Discharges Despite Unknown Health Effects

One of the country’s most controversial sources of wastewater now appears poised to grow in the heart of the oil and gas industry.

“Although produced water contains naturally occurring toxins such as ammonia and radionuclides and also sometimes toxic drilling chemicals … permits allowed 700 million gallons annually of untreated oil field wastewater to be dumped into small creeks and tributaries,” the Texas Tribune reported. “While the health and environmental effects of these discharges have never been studied, Texas regulators are moving forward to allow more discharges of oil field wastewater from conventional drilling and fracking into bodies of water before what scientists consider a thorough risk assessment is completed.”